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The Berkshire Pie Recipe

Posted in Activities on 24 Jan 2022

The Berkshire Pie

This recipe for the Berkshire Pie has been adapted to use modern ingredients and is taken from the item 'From Hand to Mouth: Cookery Recipes and Household Hints Supplied by Members of the Berkshire Federation of Women's Institutes.', 1944 (ref. D/EX2547/4/6/6).


It is amongst the papers of the Castle family of Home Farm, Charlton. If you would like to know more about the Castle family papers, please see our online catalogue.

We made this pie for Heritage Open Day 2021 and created a video. If you would like to view the video, please see our YouTube Channel.

Want to give the recipe a go?  You can download the PDF or simply follow the recipe details onscreen below:

Ingredients 

  • 2 lb chops* 

  • 2 teaspoons brown sugar 

  • 4 sour apples, thinly sliced** 

  • 2 onions, thinly sliced 

  • Salt, pepper and allspice to taste 

  • Puff pastry*** 

  • Milk 

*The original recipe does not state what type of meat to use. 2lb is about 907g. 1kg of pork steaks was used here. 

**Granny Smith apples were used here. 

**The original recipe states ‘flaky pastry’ which is a rough pastry. You need to make this yourself, or just use ready-made puff pastry as was used here. 

You will also need: 

  • Chopping Board 

  • Knives 

  • Measuring spoon 

  • A pie dish 

  • Brush (for the milk) 

Method 

Pre-heat the oven to a moderate 180o/160o fan/Gas Mark 4. 

Peel and slice the apples and onions thinly. 

Trim the fat off the chops and cut them into small cubes. 

Layer the ingredients evenly in the pie dish as follows: 

  • Apples, sprinkled with sugar 

  • Meat, sprinkled with salt, pepper and allspice 

  • Onions 

Repeat the layers until the pie dish is full and all the ingredients have been used up. 

Roll out the pastry and, using the pie dish as a guide, roughly measure how much you need to cover the pie. 

Cut out the pastry required and lay it on top of the pie. 

Trim the edges and crimp them with your fingers. 

Cut out a small hole in the top of the pie. 

Brush the pastry with milk. 

Cover the pie with foil so it does not burn. 

Place the pie in the oven for 2 to 2¼ hours. 

Remove the foil for the last 10-15 minutes until golden brown. 

Serve with chips and/or whatever vegetables you like.